Low-Carb Biscuits and Gravy (Keto, GF)

Where did the phrase “fat and happy” come from? From where I stand, I can tell you that it’s not true. I know that I am not alone in saying I have spent this pandemic baking, cooking, and eating anything my heart desired. Quite frankly, I feel miserable!

Last week I cleaned out the cabinets and the refrigerator! I am taking control of this madness! Of course, I turned to the way of eating that I can rely on best, and that is low-carb.

Growing up in the south, I have had my share of homemade biscuits and gravy. That has always been one of those things I want my mom to make when I go home. Biscuits and gravy are one of those comfort foods that makes all with the world right again.

This recipe comes from the very first Keto cookbook I ever bought, Simply Keto by Suzanne Ryan.  She did a jam-up job creating this recipe!  These Keto Gravy and Biscuits are one of my favorite “good for me” breakfasts! The biscuits alone are nothing to write home about but topped with this tasty gravy, they are incredible. I have never had anyone turn down these biscuits and gravy, health-conscious or not.

Low-Carb Gravy

Course Breakfast
Servings 2
Author Amye Melton

Ingredients

  • 4 ounces breakfast sausage
  • 3 ounces cream cheese softened
  • 1/3 cup half-and-half
  • Salt and black pepper
  • 1 batch 60-Second Mug Biscuits recipe follows

Instructions

  • In a small skillet over medium heat, brown the sausage, breaking up as it cooks.
  • When the sausage has browned, add the cream cheese and stir until blended.
  • Add the half-and-half and mix well.
  • Allow the gravy to reduce and thicken slightly over medium heat then remove from heat.
  • Season with salt and lots of black poepper.
  • Serve over biscuit.

Notes

Nutritional Info:
Calories: 518
Fat:  46 g.
Net Carbs:  6 g.

60-Second Mug Biscuits

Course Breakfast
Servings 2
Author Amye Melton

Ingredients

  • 1 large egg
  • 3 tablespoons blanched almond flour
  • 1 tablespoon coconut flour
  • 1 tablespoon unsalted butter softened
  • 1 teaspoon avocado oil
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
  • Pinch of salt

Instructions

  • Place all the ingredients in a microwave-safe mug and mix with a fork until smooth. Use the back of a spoon to smooth the top.
  • Microwave for 1 minute (you may need to adjust the cook time based on your microwave).
  • Carefully remove the mug from microwave (it will be hot), cover with a plate, and turn upside down to allow the biscuit to slide from the mug onto the plate.
  • Set the muffin on its die and cut into 4 even slices.

Notes

Nutrition: 
Calories:  182
Fat:  16.5 g.
Net Carbs:  2 g.

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Bundt Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

My mother recently stayed with me for over a month due to the coronavirus. Initially, I was a bit concerned because we have not lived together for quite a while. Bringing someone into your home for an extended visit can be stressful, even if it is your mother. However, my time with mama went great.

During her visit, she often said that she would never be able to repay me for what I was doing for her. What she does not realize is that anything I have done for her, ever, will never repay all she has ever done for me! She made many sacrifices over the years to give me the best of everything. So for that mama, the debt is mine to pay.

Mother’s Day may be a little different this year. We will not be waiting in lines at restaurants to treat mom to that special meal. Our families will most likely not be gathering at her house. Shopping for her may even be different. In some circumstances, you may not be able to see or talk to your mother. Although Covid-19 may have changed things, it can’t stop us from celebrating the mothers in our lives.

For those of you living with or near mom, here’s a super easy and delicious cake that even the kids can make. Depending on their age, they may need a little help from dad.

This Chocolate Chocolate Chip Bundt Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting is the perfect way to show mom how much you love her.

If you want to decorate your cake as I did here are a few suggestions.  It was a little tricky until I got the hang of it.  I did have the advantage of taking  a picture of the good side. I filled a piping bag, with no tip, with the cream cheese frosting and snipped off the end. My suggestions are to start on the outside of the cake working toward the center. I found that if I kept the piping bag away from the cake a bit and just “draped” the icing in place that it worked best. If you have extra frosting, pipe it into the center.

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Bundt Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Course Dessert
Author Amye Melton

Ingredients

  • 1 (15.25-ounce) package Devil's food cake mix
  • 1 (3.9-ounce) box chocolate instant pudding mix
  • 3/4 cup sour cream
  • 1/4 cup mayonnaise
  • 3 large eggs room temperature
  • 1/2 cup cold water
  • 1/2 cup canola oil
  • 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350℉.
  • Spray a 10-inch bundt cake pan well with Baker's Joy, set aside.
  • In a bowl, add the cake mix, pudding mix, sour cream, mayonnaise, eggs, water and oil. Mix using a mixer or whisk until the mixture comes together and there is no dry mix left in the bowl.
  • Add the chocolate chips and fold into the batter using a spatula.
  • Pour batter into the prepared pan. Tap the pan on the counter a few times.
  • Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until a wooden skewer comes out clean.
  • Cool in pan, on baking rack for 10 minutes. Remove from pan and cool completely before icing the cake.

Cream Cheese Frosting

Course Dessert
Author Amye Melton

Ingredients

  • 8 ounces cream cheese softened
  • 1/4 cup unsalted butter softened
  • 2 cups powdered sugar sifted
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

  • Beat the cream cheese and butter with an electric mixer until combined, but do not overbeat.
  • Add the vanilla extract and powdered sugar and beat until smooth.
  • To ice the bundt cake, fill a piping bag with no tip. Pipe from the outside of the cake working your way up and over the top and toward the center.

Easy Chocolate Chip Cookies

 

 

I feel I need to warn you that I am a little nostalgic this morning. As I sit down to choose the wedding photo of my son and his precious wife that I want to hang on my wall, memories flood my mind of when my kids were little. I quit work to be a stay-at-home mother, but I still feel like I did not have enough time!

I can remember when my kids were home during the summer break from school. The break never seemed long enough. There were always things I wanted to do with them that we just never got around to doing before it was time to go back to school again.

I know that many of you are thinking this will be a LONG summer. Kids have already been home for weeks, and it’s not even time for summer break. I know there is stress involved with raising children, but this too shall pass, and you will undoubtedly miss it. Don’t stress about the pile of laundry or the sink full of dirty dishes.

We have all been given the blessing of time right now, so no matter where you are in your walk of life, try to enjoy it!

This cookie recipe is a great recipe to have the kids help you make. I found this fabulous recipe on a blog I just found and am enjoying, dearcrissy.com.  These cookies come together in a snap and are deliciously soft and chewy. You do not even need to drag out a mixer, which is a huge plus!

This is a great cookie base, so start there and play around with the recipe to make it your own. You can always use fewer chips and add a few chopped nuts, use M&M’s instead of chips, or chopped maraschino cherries. Have fun with this recipe, and make sure you tell me about your fabulous creations.

 

Easy Chocolate Chip Cookies

Course Cookies
Author Amye Melton

Ingredients

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup butter barely melted but not too hot
  • 3/4 cup light brown sugar packed
  • 2/3 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
  • 1 large egg
  • 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
  • Coarse sea salt

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350℉. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
  • In a medium bowl mix together the flour, baking soda and salt, set aside.
  • In a large bowl beat together the butter, sugars, vanilla and vinegar until smooth. Beat in the egg.
  • Add the flour mixture and mix just until combined. Stir in the chips.
  • Using a large scoop drop dough about 3-inches apart on the prepared baking sheet.
  • Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, until they start to brown around the edges and the center looks undercooked. Remove from oven and immediately sprinkle each cookie with a tiny bit of sea salt. Allow to stand on baking sheet for 10 minutes before removing to a cooling rack.

 

 

Caramel Pecan Pie

 

Life is rolling on, and we are safe at the Melton house. I pray that this finds each of you healthy at home. Isn’t it strange how a small virus can cause such a profound change in the world? Things that were important three weeks ago do not seem quite as relevant today. Today I think more about God, family, friends, and making do with what I already have. I have not found the need to run out to buy something just because I want it. I’m saving gas, time, and money!

I have my mother with me during this. My goal is to help keep her safe and protected. I have one child in Atlanta who has not left her apartment in three weeks. I have another who will not be going back to his job for a while and a daughter-in-law finishing her last semester of college online. She has worked hard for a diploma and will not be able to walk with honor.

I plan to try to keep Easter as normal as possible around here. Most likely, my children will not be able to be here, which makes me sad. I will still get up to see the sunrise. I will rejoice that the resurrection has given me hope! I will be thankful for another day!

 

Caramel Pecan Pie

Course Dessert
Author Amye Melton

Ingredients

  • 28 Kraft caramels unwrapped
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 1/4 cup unsalted butter
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 large eggs beaten
  • 1 cup pecan pieces plus whole halves for top
  • 1 (9-inch) pie shell unbaked

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350℉.
  • Heat caramels, water, and butter over low heat, stirring occassionally, until melted and smooth.
  • Combine sugar, salt, vanilla, and beaten eggs.
  • Add caramel sauce to egg mixture; mix well.
  • Stir in pecan pieces.
  • Top with whole pecans.
  • Bake for 45 to 50 minutes. Cool before serving.

Red Velvet Fat Bombs (Keto)

The sweet memories of my kids growing up are more prevalent than ever now that they are grown and gone. Since they have moved out, I find myself going through and trying to cleanout. I do not want to be a hoarder, but I will admit that I have saved too many childhood drawings, art projects, clothes, and this may gross you out, but teeth! Yes, I have a pile of baby teeth, and I do not even know to which of my children they belong.

Red Velvet cake is one of Wesley’s favorite desserts. When he was a boy, he called them Roosevelt cakes, and now it makes me smile every time that comes to mind.

I set out to make Red Velvet Fat Bombs this week. I start just about every batch of fat bombs with cream cheese and butter. After that, I begin adding ingredients until I come up with a flavor I like.

For the red velvet fat bombs, I knew I would need cocoa. I also wanted to try the birthday cake flavored  Jordan’s Skinny Syrup that I recently ordered from Amazon. I ordered the syrup for a chaffle recipe. However, chaffles are a post for another day, but oh what a post it will be. I am completely addicted to them!

This recipe made 28 fat bombs, and they are delicious! These fat bombs would be a wonderful Valentine’s Day dessert!

Red Velvet Fat Bombs (Keto)

Course Keto
Servings 28
Author Amye Melton

Ingredients

  • 8 ounces full fat cream cheese room temperature
  • 1 stick Kerrygold unsalted butter room temperature
  • 1/2 cup Swerve confectioners
  • 5 tablespoons Jordan's Skinny Syrups Icre Cream Collection: Birthday Cake
  • splash vanilla extract
  • 2-3 tablespoons cocoa powder
  • 2+ tablespoons red food coloring optional

Instructions

  • Line a baking sheet with wax paper, set aside.
  • Beat cream cheese and butter using an electric mixer, until smooth.
  • Add Swerve confectioners, birthday cake syrup, vanilla extract, and cocoa powder, and blend until all of the ingredients have been mixed in well.
  • Add enough red food coloring to achieve the color you desire. (Red food coloring can be omited completely.) Mix well.
  • Scoop using a medium sized ice cream scoop onto the lined pan. Freeze until firm.
  • When firm, remove from paper into a small resealable container. Store in freezer.
  • Remove from freezer about 15 minutes before serving.

Notes

Nutrition:  Net Carbs: 1g; Fat: 6g; Protein: 1g; Calories:57